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Wednesday, April 05, 2017

Why was the U.S. protecting birds in Australia?

President Trump removed two species of birds from the endangered species list. They are the turquoise parrot and the scarlet-chested parrot -- birds that live in Australia.

This begs the question: Why were they even on our endangered species list?

They look nice and all, but what business is it of ours if Australian birds die off?

Not that they are. While the turquoise parrot has fertility issues believed to be related to in-breeding, both have robust populations after facing extinction a half-century ago.

The Fish and Wildlife Service announced its action on Tuesday, ending two months of regulatory inaction after President Trump imposed a freeze on regulations upon assuming office.

With Ryan Zinke installed as Interior secretary, the agency is back in business.

“Species experts now widely characterize populations of the scarlet-chested parrot and the turquoise parrot as stable, with potential increases noted for the turquoise parrot in some areas,” the agency wrote in the Federal Register, which is the publication that lists new rules and regulations.

The Center for Biological Diversity delivered more than 55,000 postcards from citizens around the country, urging the Trump administration not to remove the protections.

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke received word of the campaign and blocked the postcards from being delivered to the agency, the group said.

"The center had originally planned to deliver the postcards to Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, but the Department of the Interior refused to accept them or communicate with the center's organizers," a statement from the group said. "Today they were delivered to the headquarters of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service."

12 comments:

This probably has something to do with being able to stop the importation of these birds into the US. But if they are not endangered, why not make pets of them? Oh, right, SJW's think no one should have pets of any kind. Long live capitalism which has rescued more species than any government program ever will! -- BJ54

I very much doubt Australia would allow any sort of wholesale exportation of parrots to the USA.

When I lived there, it seemed that every week I was reading about another case where someone was busted trying to smuggle birds/eggs/lizards out of the country, and they ended up in gaol. (Did a quick search, couldn't find the laws, but I know they're there!)

I lived my whole life in the Merced area. When they started to build UC Merced environmentalists blocked the project for a while by claiming it would harm an endangered species called the "fairy shrimp". Apparently these critters are like sea monkeys - microscopic freshwater shrimp that only appear in "vernal pools" (puddles left over after spring rains) and they hatch, live, reproduce and die in a matter of weeks.

HA HA HA HA HA! Common sense is returning to our government and the Lefties are going crazy. And Mr. Zinke has the audacity (where have I heard that word before?) to tell them to stuff their postcards. Exploding Watermelons (green on the outside but Red on the inside) are a very colorful sight, much like the scarlet-chested parrot. Gotta go now. I'm headed to Pokie Supermarket to stock up on popcorn. - Elric

In the wild, the scarlet-chested parrot is nomadic, which makes it hard to get an accurate population count for them. As for their conservations status, Australia considers it SECURE, not endangered, and as for their popularity as pets, there's this:

"The scarlet-chested parrot is becoming more common in captivity, and is one of the more popular species of the genus Neophema in captivity both in Australia and overseas. Their quiet temperament and small size increase their appeal as aviary birds."

In other words, the bird does not belong on the endangered species list in the US.

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I live in Poca, West Virginia, with my lovely wife of 39 years, Lou Ann. I am an Army veteran and Cleveland State graduate. I retired after 40 years as a newspaperman. In 2016, I published "Trump the Press," which drew rave reviews at Power Line and Instapundit.